BEIJING: China’s flagship carrier Air China said on Tuesday it and a subsidiary had signed a pact with Airbus to buy 60 A320NEO jets in a deal worth about $9.5 billion at list prices.
The announcement is the latest in a string by carriers this week in the world’s second-largest aviation market, such as Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines, which plan to buy Airbus jets.
The Air China planes will be delivered in batches from 2028 through 2032, it told the Shanghai Stock Exchange in a filing.
“We’re very pleased that Air China has decided to order more Airbus A320-family aircraft,” the planemaker said in a statement.
The purchase is part of a 2022 framework deal struck between China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CASC) and Airbus, said Li Hanming, a U.S.-based independent aviation analyst.
That deal covered 132 A320-family aircraft and eight A350 widebodies, with a total value of about $17 billion.
“Negotiations for individual contracts take time,” Li said.
Prolonged tension between Beijing and Washington has hampered Boeing’s ability to secure new orders in China, giving Airbus an edge.
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